President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his affable overtures toward New York City’s first socialist mayor, expressing hope that Zohran Mamdani would be a “great” leader. 

Trump, a New York City native, met with Mamdani in a closed-door meeting at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s personal residence, this week. In a press conference afterward, the pair exchanged cordial words, reiterating the surprising relationship they have established in their third face-to-face meeting since Mamdani rose to power in the country’s largest city last year.